Negative Anthropology as a common Concept of Critical Theory and Philosophical Anthropology

• Applicant: Dr. Sebastian Edinger
• Subject Area: History of Philosophy
• Term: from 2016 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 324906120

The aim of the project is to explicate the concept of a negative anthropology as an underlying common concept of the philosophies of Helmuth Plessner and Theodor W. Adorno. The term negative anthropology dates back to Ulrich Sonnemanns book Negative Anthropology, in which Sonnemann was in fact aiming at a principal negation of anthropology. In this project, negative anthropology is introduced as a systematically negative concept, which can be used to highlight elementary philosophical similarities between Plessner and Adorno while this does not apply to the relationship between Plessner and Gehlen (which is also to be shown in the project). Given a successful depiction of this line of reasoning, the history of philosophy in the twentieth century has to be refigured since a central opposition widely considered to be unquestionable vanishes. This will be further illustrated by the fact that Plessner and Adorno adopt very similar positions in their critique of philosophy of history and of modernity, with both their critiques being set up in a negative-anthropological manner. In its final step this project is aiming at a depiction of Plessners and Adornos comprehensive critique of idealism which is to be pointed out in a careful examination of their critique of 20th century existentialism, phenomenology, decisionism and positivism as specific sedimentations of idealistic thinking.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants